Hotbed.



W. AHLEN 6: V ROSS,

HOTBED.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4, 1910.

L39$3W2 Patented De0.23,1913.

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APPLIOATION FILED MBA, 1910 3 SHEETSSHEET Z.

WITNESSES INVENTORS N a 7/ %mzM-W f /m/y 2% W. AHLEN & V. ROSS.

HOTBED.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4, 1910. 1,08%,387. Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

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WETNE$SFS WILLIAM AHLEN AND VICTOR ROS OF DUQUESNE, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec; 23, 1913.

Application filed February 4. 1910. Serial 1%. 542,022.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM AHLEN and'Vlo'ron Ross, both of Duquesne, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, have invent ed a new and useful Improvement in Hotbeds, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a double hot bed constructed and arranged in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation of the same on the irregular line 1I-H of Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional elevation showing a port-ion of the apparatus. Fig. 4; is a sectional elevation and Fig. 5 a transverse sectional elevation showing details of the nechanism for raising and lowering the delivery chain, used in removing the bars from the hot bed, also forming part of this invention. Fig. 6 is a detail side elevation showing the mechanism for actuating the tilting apron plates.

Our invention relates to apparatus used in handling and storing rolled metal bars and similar long rolled metal shapes and particularly relates to the handling and storage of such rolled materials afterthey have been formed in a rolling mill and during the time they are being cooled from the hot state in which they are finished in such mills to a cold state in which they can be readily handled in storing or shipping, although not limited to such use with hot materials;

One object of our invention is to provide a hot bed of improved construction having means for delivering the rolled materials lengthwise alongside the hot bed and for transferring the materials sidewise from the lengthwise delivery ITQSLIIS to the notched conveyer bars or supports for the materials forming part of the hot bed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hot bed having a novel arrangement of notched conveyer bars which are arranged to transfer the materials being handled transversely of their length across the width of the hot bed by a step by step movement and in the use of which the materials are successively lifted and are moved from the notches of one set of conveyer bars into those in the second set of the conveyer bars, the sets of bars alternately acting as supports for the metal and for lifting the metal and each notch in the sets of bars being arranged to support or lift a piece of the materials. Another object of our invention is to rovide improved means for delivering the ars from the notched bars forming the hot bed and for collecting and storing the materials in a group after being delivered from the hot bed, preparatory to being transferred to a delivery table on which the materials are delivered lengthwise to a shear or place of storage.

In the drawings, 2 and 3 designate notched or serrated conveyer bars which are mounted upon the longitudinal beams or girders 44: and 5 5 in independently 1| ovable sets. The bars forming one set of the supports are mounted upon the beams M and the supports 3 are mounted upon the longitudinal beams 5-5. The beams 4-4i and 5--5 are carried upon transversely extending rocking beams or supports 6 and 7 which are pivotally mounted at their outer ends upon the upper ends of rocking arms 8, the arms 8 being pivoted at their lower ends to a base or foundation. At an intermediate point .in their length the beams (5 and 7 are mounted upon eccentrics 9 and 10, the beams 6 being mounted upon the eccentrics 9 and the beams 7 on the eccentrics 10. The eccentrics 9 and 10 are secured to or form part of the shaft 11 which extends lengthwise of and below the hot bed formed by the notched conveyer bars .2 and 3 and the shaft 11 is arranged to be rotated, either constantly or intermittently as is desired, by suitable slowdown gearing connecting with a driving motor of any desired type.

As shown in the drawings, a double hot bed is provided the notched conveyer bars forming the beds being located on opposite sides of the receiving table forn ed by the rollers 12, on which the materials are delivered lengthwise alongside the hot beds from the rolling mill or other point of supply. The rollers 12 are each provided with a sheave wheel 13 through which it is driven by contact with the driving rope 14. Idler wheels 15 are provided between the sheave wheels 13, the rope passing over the top of the idlers 15 and underneath the driving sheave wheels 13, in this way the rope serving to not only drive the rollers 12 of the receiving table, but also partly counterbalancing and supporting the weight of the rollers in their bearings, as well as increasing the tractive force of the rope.

Alongside the receiving tables formed by the rollers 12 are tilting apron plates 16 which are located between the rollers and which are pivotally supported on the beams fonning the sides 17 of the receiving table. The outer edges or sides of the apron plates 16 are inclined upwardly and outwardly and the apron plates are connected by means of the bell-cranks 18 to longitudinally extendin rods 19 which are located beneath the ro lers 12 of the roller feed table. The rods 19 are connected to a suitable motor so as i to be moved lengthwise and are arranged when so moved to tilt the apron plates 16 from the position shown in full lines into that shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. When the apron plates are tilted into this po-v sition, the materials will slide down the inclined surface of the apron plates and be delivered into the first set or row of notches in the notched conveyer bars 2 and 3. When bars or other materials are delivered by the inclined sides of the apron plate 16 to the first set of notches in the conveyer bars 2 and 3, the shaft 11 and eccentrics 9 and 10 are caused to rotate. The eccentrics 9 are thereby caused to raise and lower the free end of the transverse rocking beams and the eccentrics 1O raise and lower the free end of the transverse rocking beams, the beams 6 moving upwardly alternately with the beams 7 so that when one set of beams is in its extreme raised position the other set is at the lowest limit of its downward movement. As the beams 6 are moved longitudinally the beams s and 4* and the notched conveyer bars 2 mounted thereon are moved therewith, and as the beams 7 move the longitudinal beams 5 and 5 the notched conveyer bars have a similar movement. By lifting the sets of notched bars 2 and 3 alternately and moving the bars in opposite directions the materials resting on the hot bed will be raised vertically by one set of notched bars and be transferred sidewise until they areabove the adjacent set of notches in the other of the sets of bars 2 or 3, and as the eccentrics continue their movement the bar or bars will be deposited in the other set of notches in the set of bars 2 or 3. After a half revolution has been completed by the eccentrics the relative position of the bars 2 and 3 is changed and the supporting set of notches will become the lifting set, while the lifting set becomes the receiving set. It will be noticed that when the bars in both sets are parallel, the notches in one set are in line with those in the other set, and that the materials are supported by both sets of bars while in this position. On the second half of the revolution of the eccentrics, the materials are lifted by the notches in the other set of bars and are moved vertically and horizontall sidewise until they are above the next a jacent set of notches in the liftin bars. Meanwhile anew lot of materials will have .been transferred from the feed table rollers 12 and be deposited in the first set of notches by again tilting the apron plates 16. The above described operations are continued as the materials are supplied to the hot bed by the delivery table, the notches in the sets of bars will become filled with materials and the materials are caused to move by a step by step movement across the length of the notched conveyer bars and are finally discharged upon the endless chain 20 which is mounted on sprocket wheels 21 and 22, on opposite sides of the delivery table formed by the delivery rollers 23. The delivery rollers are operated preferably through a line shaft 24 and bevel gears 25, which construe tion being old and well-known need not be further described. The sprocket wheels 21 are mounted upon a sprocket wheel shaft 26, the sprocket wheels 22 on the opposite side of the delivery table being idler wheels. The idler wheels 22 are mounted upon one end of chain guides or supports 28, these supports being pivotally mounted on the shaft 26. The inner end of the supports or guides 28 are connected by link 29 with one lever arm of the bell cranks 30 the other arm of these bell cranks being connected to a longitudinally extending and longitudinally reciprocable rod or bar 31 which extends below the delivery chain 20 lengthwise of the hot bed, the end of the rod or bar 31 being connected to a suitable motor by which the inner end of the support or guide 28, is raised or lifted at intervals. As the bars are successively delivered from the notched conveyer bars forming the hot bed to the chain 20, the chain is caused to move lengthwise in the support 28 and the bars are assembled or grouped on the chain 20 at the discharge end' of the bars 2 and 3 between the ends of the bars 23 and the rollers 23 of the delivery table. When enough bars have become grouped on the chain, this chain and its support 28, is lifted through the bell cranks 30 and the rod 31 and upon continuing the longitudinal movement of the chain 20 while the end of the support 28 is lifted, a group of bars upon the chain is brought into position above the rollers 23 of the delivery table. The rod 31 is then caused to operate so as to lower the chain 20 and its support 28 into the position shown in Fig. 2. When this occurs the group of bars will rest upon the rollers 23 of the delivery table on which they are then delivered lengthwise to a shear or other place of disposal.

The advantages of our invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. By the novel construction shown and described,

the bars are successively removed from a receiving table to the hot bed and the bars are then gradually moved by a step by step movement across the width of the hot bed, this movement being regulated preferably by the time necessary to allow such bars to become cool.

Instead of lifting and causing the materials to slide forwardly down inclined surfaces and be brought to a stop by contact with an opposing surface, the bars are lifted, moved bodily sidewise and are deposited in a new position on the conveyer bars. This is of particular value with light thin materials, in that it prevents damage to the skin or coat of oXid on such bars, and also prevents nicking or other deformation of the sharp edges usually present on such bars.

After the materials are transferred across the width of the hot bed, they are collected in groups and the grouped materials are then transferred bodily sidewise without any sliding movement and are deposited on the feed rollers of a receiving table by which they are afterward delivered lengthwise to the point of disposal of such bars.

Modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from our invention within the scope of the claims. Instead of using a.

double hot bed, that is, a supporting bed on each side of a centrally located roller delivery table, a single bed may be employed and other changes may be made.

We claim 1. A hot bed comprising in combination a plurality of alternately arranged sets of serrated conveyer bars, one set of said bars being supported at one end and the other set supported at the opposite end to permit rocking and longitudinal movement, and means for rocking and moving both sets of bars in a similar non-circular, curved path and in the same direction with the phase of movement of one set maintained at an angle of substantially 180 de ees from that of the other set to thereby lift and bodily trans fer rolled metal materials carried thereon I across the width of said hot bed.

across the width of the hot bed and arranged in sets with the conveyer bars of one set supported at one side and those of the other set at the opposite side of the hot bed to permit rocking andlengthwise movement of the bars, and means for moving the sets in simi lar non-circular, curved paths with the phase of movement of one set maintained at an angle of substantially 180 degrees from the phase of movement of the other set to thereby lift and bodily transfer materials across the width of the hot bed.

3. A hot bed comprising a pair of duplicate reversely arranged overlapping frames, each frame having inner and outer longitudinal beams connected by transverse rocking beams, the frames being supported to swing and move sidewise, a power driven shaft beneath the frames intermediate of and extending lengthwise parallel with the sides thereof, frame actuating cams on said shaft, the sets of cams being reversely arranged and two sets of conveyer bars extending lengthwise across the width of the frame, one set being carried by one frame and the other set by the second frame.

4:- A hot bed comprising a series of serrated conveyer bars extending lengthwise across the width of the hot bed and arranged in separate sets, one set of bars being supported at one side of the hot bed to swing and move longitudinally, the other set of bars being supported at he opposite side of the hot bed to swing and move longitudinally, and means intermediate the ends of the bars for moving the sets of bars in similar non-circular, curved paths and 1n the same direction with the phase of movement of one set maintained at an angle of substantially 180 degrees to that of the other set to thereby lift and bodily transfer rolled metal materials carried thereon across the width of the hot bed.-

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands.

WILLIAM AHLEN. VICTOR ROSS.

Witnesses:

T. E. MCDOWELL, Gno. L. NEFF. 

